


Four Kingdoms

by sendcatnipmadam



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Cardverse AU, Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27834076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sendcatnipmadam/pseuds/sendcatnipmadam
Summary: Luxord studies a mysterious card deck, filled with faces both old and new.
Kudos: 4





	Four Kingdoms

The aftermath of the storm had brought a dark, chilly night. The remnants of heavy rain and lightning left behind a thick blanket of clouds, completely shutting away the night sky and leaving Port Royal engulfed in a pitch black. Without the presence of the moon's light, a lantern sitting on a rickety old table substituted as a light source. The flame's warm light wasn't enough to reveal a man's face, obscured by a large leather hood, but provided enough for him to leisurely shuffle the new deck of cards he had hustled from a gaggle of thieves.

Proud of his latest catch, Luxord sorted and laid out the cards in four sets, each representing the four suites-Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. Already he was fascinated by their appearance, somehow not looking too worn or torn despite who their previous owners were. Each suite had a unique color and pattern. Hearts were a brilliant crimson with roses and carnations on the borders, the Diamonds a Prussian blue adorned with stars and ribbons, the Clubs an evergreen with clovers and doubloons, and the Spades a plum purple, bordered with chains and masks. What stood out most to him were the top three cards of each suite, the Kings, Queens, and Jacks. No single figure had a remote similarity, as they all had their own distinct faces and designs. 

The King of Hearts sat in a position that one would consider inappropriate for a king, with his legs crossed and a tanned cheek rested on one hand. The velvet red crown sitting askew on top of his unruly brown hair gave the impression of a monarch who didn't take his role very seriously. In his other hand the King toyed with a marionette with his lips stretched in a crooked smile. It appeared to be a smile of amusement, but his oceanic eyes looked somewhat bored, as if the King's marionette was merely shallow entertainment. Luxord could sympathize with such a sentiment. 

The Queen of Hearts looked more fitting of her title, sitting in her matching throne with a more regal pose. Her expression was more scornful, with her chin held high and eyebrows knitted with disdain, her purplish eyes glaring at her unseen viewer. In her hands was a bouquet of roses as bright and scarlet as her hair. Behind her were bushes of roses, with their dark green leaves splattered with red hinted that they were painted over...kind of like another Queen. Luxord didn't know whether to chuckle at the coincidence or be concerned. Either way something told him that there was a parallel to be made here, judging from the Queen's hateful demeanor. 

The Jack of Hearts looked _appallingly_ sloppy compared to his superiors, Luxord couldn't help but stifle a laugh at his poor posture and wrinkled clothes. His back-length, lavender hair even more unkempt than the King's to the point his droopy teal eyes were barely visible beneath the bangs. Resting on his shoulders and hands were rats of different colors and sizes, one being scratched affectionately by the Jack's fingers. Quite questionable that the designer of these cards would chose such an unflattering look, but that can said for a lot of artistic visions. 

The King of Diamonds looked much more dignified than his counterpart from Hearts, with his golden blonde hair brushed to perfection. His fancy silk cloak matched his blue eyes. In his hands were the Sovereign's Orb and Scepter, objects seen at a ruler's coronation. The way he held them made the items glitter beneath the light, almost as if the King was showing off his royal status. Nothing gave off the image of an arrogant king more than one who flaunted the very symbols of his power, and the haughty smile completed the aura of an arrogant young man with a familiar face. 

The Queen of Diamonds was as pretty as she was unnerving, like a wax statue that appeared so realistic it became uncanny. Like her King, her short raven hair was shaped in a perfect do, with not a single strand out of place. Makeup could be seen on her fair face, her glossed pink lips smiling and revealing a row of pearly white teeth. Her smile was soft and kind, but her deep indigo eyes were a dark, vacant void. She gazed into a large hand mirror in a gloved hand, stroking her hair with her other. Perhaps Queen cares about her appearance a lot, hence her looking like a like a doll. This observation gave Luxord a sense of deja vu, but for some reason he couldn't put his finger on it. 

Luxord then made a double take when he saw the Jack of Diamonds, for he had the face of someone he definitely knew, but pushed it aside at its impossibility. Other than his tall, slim build, reptile green eyes, and mane of red hair, this man was someone different entirely-he _had_ to be. His expression seemed quite apathetic, giving nothing away. Instead of growing freely, his hair was slicked back and contained in a ponytail. He held a long riding crop, no doubt used on any citizen who dared to fall out of line. Whatever this world was, the Jack was given a hand of authority and enforcement over it. 

Next was the King of Clubs, who, oddly enough, shared a slight resemblance to the King of Diamonds, with the same blonde, windswept hair and and a youthful, fair complexion, but that was where similarities ended. The King's expression seemed to be caught mid-laugh, with one foot kicked up and a festive looking flag being waved in the air. While his appeared to be a happy-go-lucky type, there was something off about his smile, similar to the Queen of Diamonds. Although instead of his large, verdant eyes looking empty and doll-like, they looked rather...erratic. Luxord had seen these types of gazes before-ones that belonged to emotionally fragile people who could snap at the drop of a hat. Why such a clearly unstable boy would be crowned King was a mystery that would never be solved. Garlands and streamers surrounded his throne, implying that some sort of celebration was taking place. While looking through the background Luxord caught sight of something peculiar: a pair of glowing red eyes leering from the shadows. 

"By Jove, what is _that?"_ he muttered, tilting the card towards the light to get a better look. 

All he was able to discern was a mouth of bared fangs, large crimson claws, and possibly a pair of dragon-like wings virtually as wide as the card itself. Was it some sort of Heartless? A mythical creature? Luxord had fair knowledge in both, but he couldn't guess what the beast could possibly be, much less determine if he's even seen or heard of it before. How fitting that this King who looked like a kid he knew was the biggest anomaly of this deck. 

Next was the Queen of Clubs, who looked considerably older than the King, with lots of makeup to make her age seem more ambiguous. Tall, slender, with shiny blue hair flowing down to her cleavage, exposed by a very deep V in her dress and pushed up with a bodice. A bejeweled goblet was held to her glossed lips while winking suggestively at her viewer. Luxord couldn't deny that she was a sight to see, but he didn't train himself in the world of gambling and trickery to not know that the most alluring women were typically the shadiest. He wondered what could be going on in that well-styled head. 

The Jack of Clubs stuck out like a sore thumb out of the trio, not looking festive or even remotely merry. His attire resembled something militaristic, with his armored shoulders and silky evergreen cape. Clearly being the oldest out of all the characters so far, the Jack's dark, chiseled face was frozen in a stoic frown, with his stance being that of a royal guard with a large broadsword perched in front of him. Really, he looked more like a royal army general than a Jack. Beneath his thick eyebrows glared a pair of golden brown eyes that said "Cross me and you'll regret it", a gaze that Luxord knew all too well. 

Last but not least were the Spades. But when Luxord flipped over the card that should've had the King, all he saw was an old, torn up throne with nothing but a black crown with all its jewels removed. The King of Spades was no where to be seen on the card. Luxord plucked up the Queen's card, and the exact same image, with shattered pieces of parchment scattered across the floor. Looking closely, some hints of drawings could be seen. On the Jack's card was a rusted sword, with a gap where some sort of jewel or orb should've been, laying in the middle of a field littered with rubble and overgrowth of weeds. 

Not on a single card were the Spades anywhere to be seen. 

"Truly unorthodox," he whispered. 

What happened? Where could they have possibly gone? What started out as a mild interest swelled into great curiosity, as never in his years of collecting countless variations of the Four Suites has ever discovered something as unusual as this. No wonder those thieves clung onto it so much. Luxord had certainly made a rare and maybe even a highly valuable find. Whatever the story or origin laid behind this peculiarity, Luxord was itching to know it. He knew his superiors would be against him straying against their main goal, but he couldn't turn down a mystery like this. Whatever day he would choose to piece it together would have to a carefully planned and timed task. Not that he minded-it made things a lot more interesting, and if there was anything Luxord loved most, it was a good challenge.

He stood up and gathered all the cards into one full stack, and with a wave of his hand, the flame inside the lantern sputtered its last breaths before dying out while a Dark Corridor simultaneously rose beside the deck. By the time the moon had finally peeked from the waning clouds, Luxord was gone, slipped away into the shadows, leaving Port Royal quiet and uninhabited once more. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, yeah. I shared this little AU in a server I was in and suddenly my writing brain kicked into overdrive. Dunno when I'll get back to this, maybe sometime next year when my Enchanted fic is (hopefully) finished. For now, take this little piece as a teaser for what I have planned. Don't expect to see a direct connection between this and the actual story, so let's call it an introduction of sorts.


End file.
